Statue of Marion Barry unveiled with ceremony outside Wilson Building

WASHINGTON - A new statue of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was unveiled Saturday outside of the District's City Hall Saturday morning.

Barry served four terms as the mayor of the District of Columbia and 16 years on the city council before he passed away in Nov. 2014 at the age of 78.

Known as D.C.'s "Mayor for Life," Barry is the first locally-elected official to be honored with a statue in the city.

"Sometime after Dr King had a dream and before President Obama gave us hope, Marion Barry provided opportunity," posted Mayor Muriel Bowser.

He also one of three African-Americans with a full body statue standing in the District.

The new eight-foot-tall bronze statue of Barry was designed by artist Steven Weitzman and the project was commissioned by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Current Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Barry's widow, Cora Masters Barry, attended the statue dedication ceremony Saturday.